Truer words could not be spoken. For very good ninja book there are ten bad ones.

Turnbull has solid academic credentials. He stuck to the historic record, as much as he could. Kacem Zoughari did a decent job until the last couple of chapters of his book...

Antony Cummins, well, he seems to have a chip on his shoulder and refuses to footnote his work, which I find astonishing for someone with an MA.

The most recent Shoninki translation by Donald Roley is pretty good so far.

Did Roley publish? Or did he post to the Interwebz? I'd read his translation.

As hard as it is for me to swallow this, my position on Cummins may be softening. Although I would consider him "sensational" and I, too, am bothered by his less-than-rigorous methods... I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that he's probably no worse than the other popular history writers. I'm still trying to find a local library that carries one of his books so I can sample one without putting more money in his pocket; but I suspect I will hold my nose and purchase his Bansenshukai in order to give him an honest review.

Filipino nationals and Americans were fighting the Japanese as well, on account of the PI being ruled by America at the time due to the Spanish American war. Among them was Sergeant Leo Giron (Filipino American). The DBMA Grandfathers Speak video features him telling a few stories about this time. One was that they'd sneak into Japanese bases in the jungle and puncture their food tins with a very tiny hole, so they'd spoil and everyone would get the shits. He also recounts a story about fighting a man bolo vs katana (and a third guy with a bayonet that was dealt with by someone else).

Pretty ninja stuff.

Word.

Although one does have to wonder if the stories have grown in the retelling. But that would be pretty ninja too, and does not diminish the badassedness of fighting the Japanese with bolos and true grit.

It's only been a few years since Hatsumi had a big CNN exclusive about being the "last ninja", and this historian instead credits a spy-soldier who hid in the jungle for 30 years as being the "Last Ninja".

Didn't this guy realize he was not gathering useful intelligence after say 20 of those 30 years? What possible intelligence could he be gathering about a war that ended 20+ years ago?

It depends on your point of view. It's easy to say this from the comfort of your computer chair.

The next time you are stranded on an enemy island and being hunted, you tell me whether or not it matters "the war is over".

An enemy island that he went to as an invading force. But yes I can see your point about the being hunted part if it is in the fact the reason, my understanding was that he refused to believe that Japan would ever surrender and took it upon himself to keep fighting. Now if that's the case then the being hunted part was somewhat justified.

An enemy island that he went to as an invading force. But yes I can see your point about the being hunted part if it is in the fact the reason, my understanding was that he refused to believe that Japan would ever surrender and took it upon himself to keep fighting. Now if that's the case then the being hunted part was somewhat justified.

Remember, he was an intelligence officer. They tried for years to convince him to surrender with leaflets and "propaganda". Their lack of success in apprehending him probably convinced him even further the war was still going on. How else could his campaign be so successful? He probably just figured when and if the war ended, he'd finally be found and killed. But no, he was able to operate with impunity for three decades.

Remember, he did not surrender to the Philippine government. They were on hand to ensure his protection and extradition. His commanding officer was brought out to the island 30 years later, and he relieved Hiroo of his duties. Up until that moment, Hiroo was following his orders, which quite frankly were military in nature. He was not attacking civilians, he was harassing military and government targets.

Remember, he was ordered never to surrender or commit suicide and to continue fighting until he died or was relieved by his own forces, which is what he did.